BNS Section 319: Cheating By Personation

Definition of BNS Section 319

Section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:

(1) A person is said to cheat by personation if he cheats by pretending to be some other person, or by knowingly substituting one person for or another, or representing that he or any other person is a person other than he or such other person really is.

Explanation.—The offence is committed whether the individual personated is a real or imaginary person.

Illustrations.

(a) A cheats by pretending to be a certain rich banker of the same name. A cheats by personation.

(b) A cheats by pretending to be B, a person who is deceased. A cheats by personation.

(2) Whoever cheats by personation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 319

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of cheating by way of impersonation. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

• Offence

  This section has been divided into two subsections. While the first subsection defines the meaning of cheating by personation, subsection two defines the punishment for the offence. Let us take a look.
  
  Subsection (1) defines cheating by personation as an act of cheating committed by:
  
  pretending to be some other person - here a person cheats another person by pretending to be someone he or she is not.
  
  knowingly substituting one person for or another - here a person cheats another person by presenting someone to them as something he or she is not.
  
  representing that he or any other person is a person other than he or such other person really is - by making them believe that a particular person is someone who he or she is not
  
  In other words, when an act of cheating is committed by deceiving someone into believing that a person is someone who he or she is not. However, as mentioned in Section 318, mere deception does not amount to cheating. The deception must lead to loss of property, reputation or physical or mental damage for the person who is being cheated. Only then does it amount to an offence under the provisions of this section.
  
  Further, an explanation has been provided to clarify that it doesn’t matter if the deception is caused using an imaginary or real identity. As long as a person is being presented as someone who they are not with the intention of extracting property or causing a loss to the person being cheated, it shall amount to cheating by personation. The illustrations provided clearly demonstrate the offence.
  
  Subsection 2 defines the punishment for the offence as defined above.

• Punishment

  Any person found guilty of cheating by personation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

• The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

  • The offender is forced or coerced into performing the offence
  • The offender is a minor or not of sane mind.

• However, there may be other sections under the BNS under which the above actions can be prosecuted and while they may be disqualified under the provisions of this section, such actions will still be punishable under the provisions of those respective sections of the BNS.

• Illustration

  A pretends to be Z, a person who has been reported missing, with the intention of inheriting property from Z’s family. A has cheated by personation.

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